Booklust

When I was a kid — I guess we'd call me a "tween" nowadays — I read voraciously, addictively. I would lock myself in a quiet place for hours and hours on end. I distinctly remember my mom chiding me one time, telling me to come out of my room and "be a person" for a while.

Probably there aren't TOO many moms who have that problem with their teenagers. ;) At least, not addicted to books.

I've been rediscovering my addiction passion lately. I've been reading the "Uglies" series by Scott Westerfield, and I CANNOT. STOP. READING.

I spent three hours yesterday finishing "Specials," the third in the series, and I went to the library today to get the fourth.

I read sixty pages when I got home, and then put it aside. I need to be a person for a while.

But it's still sitting in there.

Waiting.

Deathly Hallows Review

I was going to cross-post my entire Deathly Hallows" review here, but in honor of those who haven't read it yet, I will instead post a link to the review on my livejournal.

SPOILERS! Do not click this link until you have finished the book. Then, please feel free to click and read and tell me what you think.

"Words? Words? Words."

I'm really worried that Harry Potter is going to end up like Hamlet. I mean, he's avenging his dead father, sort of in love with the girl next door, but unable to be with her, and more than a little mad. So, I have this bad feeling it's just going to end in a bloodbath. Cos in Hamlet? EVERYONE dies. Literally. Everyone. Horatio is the only one left, so it'll be, like, Neville kissing Harry on his now-scarless forehead and saying, "Goodnight sweet prince. May flights of angels sing thee to thy rest," and curtain.

And I will be very peeved. And depressed for months, no doubt.

Note to self: buy kleenex before the weekend.

P.S. If JKR deals with Hermione and Ron with a line saying, "Granger and Weasley are dead," she will be hearing from me.

2007 book list -- january update

Finished Books:

or Cancel

• Twilight—Stephanie Meyers
• The Golden Compass—Philip Pullman
• 20 Master Plots and How to Build Them—Ronald B. Tobias
  
• Peter and the Starcatchers—Dave Barry & Ridley Pearson
  

Books to Read:

• Darkside—Tom Becker
  *Darkside* -- Tom Becker
  

  or Cancel

• Making a Literary Life—Carolyn See
  *Making a Literary Life* -- Carolyn See
  

  or Cancel

• The Omnivore’s Dilemma—Michael Pollan
  *The Omnivore's Dilemma* -- Michael Pollan
  

  or Cancel

• The Subtle Knife—Philip Pullman

Books Started, but Not Finished:

• The Last Dragon—Silvana de Mari
• Traveling Mercies—Ann Lamott
  *Traveling Mercies* -- Ann Lamott
  

  or Cancel

• The Plot Thickens—Noah Lukeman
  *The Plot Thickens* -- Noah Lukeman
  

  or Cancel

• The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People—Stephen Covey
  *The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People* -- Stephen Covey
  

  or Cancel

• Living the Seven Habits—Stephen Covey

And it's already no.1 on Amazon.com

The seventh Harry Potter book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows will be released on 07/21/07.

I think it's a shame they couldn't have bumped it up by two weeks so that the seventh book would be released on the seventh day of the seventh month of the seventh year of the twenty-first century.

Don't you agree, Em?

tea, burritos, and books

Boulder was big fun. On the way up, we stopped at the Celestial Seasonings factory, which was actually really cool! We got to see how they cut the herbs and sort them, and then got to watch them pack the teabags in boxes. We went in the room where they store the mint, and -- wow. That'll clear your sinuses.

Then we were starving, so we headed to downtown Boulder and stopped at Illegal Pete's, a cool burrito place right on the Pearl Street pedestrian mall with burritos bigger than my head.

The Pearl Street Mall is full of cool shops and BOOK STORES! The best is Boulder Book Store, which is a multi-level insane celebration of new and used books. It seems to be in an old house or hotel -- the fiction, for example, is in the West Ballroom. =D Lots of fun. And lots of bookstores! We found five in as many blocks, including The Beat Bookstore, a leftist bookstore, and a lesbian bookstore -- something for everybody!

Books, Books, Books

Husband and I are going to Boulder today to mess around the Pearl Street Mall, and maybe Whole Foods, and try to find as many used book stores as humanly possible, although, considering all the books I brought back with me from Dallas (both new-to-me and beloved old friends) it would be obscene if I bought any more books.

But that has never stopped me before.

In other news, I want to read more this year and also keep track of the books I've read. I've finished two books so far this year. A list (of books read and to-be-read) will be forthcoming.

According to our Frommers, Boulder has more used bookstores per capita than any other U.S. city. Which makes it just about perfect, in my mind.

Books

What Should I Read Next? is a web site that will recommend books for you based on what you read last or what you're reading now.

Seems like a pretty cool service, although it didn't recognize some books I put in -- like "The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People" or "Peace Like a River." But when I did get it to recognize a book ("The Thief Lord"), the list of recommendations seemed pretty cool.

The same site is also betaing a a film and music recommendation site.